In 1941 the first large-scale paratroop attack took place when Hitler ordered the invasion of Crete. Within a week Churchill gave the order to evacuate the island, but the two leaders' interpretations of the battle could not be more different. This film evokes the horror of the conflict, examines the war leaders' conclusions and the lessons that are still relevant to paratroopers today. 6/6.
During the Great Depression the American public looked for real-life anti-heroes to match the gangster movies - and found one in John Dillinger. A desperado, a bank robber, a bad man no jail could hold, his reputation grew until he was named the country's first Public Enemy Number One. But J Edgar Hoover would use Dillinger's celebrity to burnish his own reputation and that of his new national police force, the FBI. 5/6.
Ten years into his reign, the notorious emperor Nero attempted to build the largest palace the Romans would ever see, the Domus Aurea or "Golden House". What remains of the building today lies alongside the Colosseum, barely noticed, but after 30 years of renovation it has reopened to the public. 4/6.
Hollywood's portrayal of Thomas More, Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, is that of a saint but in truth he was a much more complex and interesting man. This drama-documentary, presented by Professor John Guy, follows the last seven years of More's life, when England turned from being a Catholic to a Protestant nation, and assesses the part More played in his own downfall. 3/6.